Start Creating the Flowers of Your Dreams in Acrylic Paint!
Unleash your inner artist in this comprehensive program led by artist and educator, Marianne Vander Dussen
Painting realistic flowers can be intimidating. I'm here to help.
Whether you're a seasoned or emerging artist, attempting to paint florals can be intimidating ... especially when you're trying to piece together information on your own.
That's where I come in. I'll be with you every step of the way, offering step-by-step instruction and guidance through both the video modules AND our private Facebook support group, where you'll find encouragement from your fellow students.Â
What students are saying...
"Wow! This course did not disappoint! It was packed full of information from paint brushes to colour mixing and tonal values. Each module was a joy to work through…even the background music added such a relaxing element!"
- Carolyn S.
"Marianne’s online painting course is so fun and professional which makes you want to keep on going. The instructions are so clear and easy to follow as she shows everything precisely every step of the way."
- Nevine Y.
"As an experienced artist, I was worried that your course might be a little too basic for me, but I want to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised and so impressed by how well thoughout, organized and thorough it was.”
Barbara L.
Positive, Supportive, Informative. Guaranteed.
Not what you expected? No problem: your investment is protected with a 30 day money back guarantee. Just send me an email and I'll send you a refund...no questions asked.Â
Are You Ready to Pick Up the Brush?
Click the offer below to get started, and don't forget to use your discount code HOLIDAY30 at checkout to take $30 off!
I'm READY to pick up the brush!
What's Included in the Course?
Grab a tea and get comfortable, here's a full course description. Or...skim down to the bottom to read some FAQs.
1. Introduction
You’ll be walked through some important considerations to bear in mind before starting on your flower painting journey, including lighting your workspace, characteristics of acrylic paints, and working with a reference photo. You’ll also be introduced to the learning log in the course pack, so you can keep track of your learning as you progress through the course.
2. Aspect Ratios
You’ll learn all about how aspect ratios affect canvas size, and will be thoroughly educated about the importance of choosing a canvas size that matches the cropping of your reference photo to ensure that your drawing is transferred accurately
3. Materials
You’ll be introduced to all of the materials that you will require for the course, including canvases, gesso, paints, brushes, and mediums. Even though this course will barely use any medium whatsoever, you will still be taught about various popular mediums, in case you would like to experiment with any of them throughout your painting or your practice.
4. Canvas Prep
You’ll learn how to use gesso, paint, and sandpaper to create a work surface that better facilitates realism. You’ll prepare not only your canvas for the painting itself, but several canvas boards to have available for your colour mixing lessons and petal studies.
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5. Wet Palette
If you’re frustrated by how quickly acrylic paint dries on your palette, this lesson will ensure that you will never have to deal with that problem again. You will be walked through the process of creating a wet palette that will keep your paints workable for the entirety of your painting session.
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6. Intro to Studies
We will look at using canvas boards as a tool for mixing tones, colours and painting petals. You’ll also be introduced to the concept of colour context, and learn about how it deeply impacts your ability to interpret and mix colour.Â
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7. Mixing Tones
In this real-time demonstration, you’ll paint alongside me to create a board with various tones on it that will form the backbone of colour mixing for flowers.
8. Mixing Colours
In this real-time demonstration, you’ll identify colours in your reference photo, isolate them, and mix them using the colours in your limited palette. You’ll be taught how to increase or tone back saturation, mix challenging colours such as greens and mauves, and walk away with a swatch board containing every colour that you will be mixing to paint the peonies in the next half of the course.Â
9. Petal Studies
You will paint two petal studies; a soft, muted petal and a vibrant, saturated petal. Each petal will take approximately half an hour to complete. You’ll be encouraged to approach the petals as sketches, not getting too bogged down in perfection, and taught how to begin with a base layer before making slight colour modifications to gradually build realism.Â
10. Consolidation
We’ll reflect on your progress made, revisit where you started versus where you are now, and celebrate your success in making it through the first half of the course.
11. Intro to Painting Peonies
Before you start painting, let’s discuss a few important points such as progress over perfection, making adjustments, and working with the reference snapshots that have been overlaid throughout the painting modules to help you compare the painting directly to the reference photo.Â
12. Transferring the Drawing
If you have ever struggled with transferring the drawing from the reference photo to the canvas, this module will teach you how to get an accurate rendering using the grid method. You’ll build upon your previous knowledge of aspect ratios to create a grid that will support your drawing and painting process.
13. Painting the Background
Learn to paint a background that’s blurred and out of focus, mimicking the aperture of a camera.
14. First Layer: Top Peony Centre
We’ll start with the focal point of the top peony, and add the first layer of the heart of the peony.
15. First Layer: Lighter Petals
Begin building depth in your peony by working in concentric circles around the focal point centre. In this module, you’ll add in the lighter petals only, working your way around the flower like a clock before moving towards the outer edges.
16. First Layer: Outer Petals
This module has been split into two parts to make it easier to track progress. Now that you have the lighter petals layered in, it’s time to move to the outer edges of the petals, where richer, more intense colours await. You’ll work with both warm and cool reds to create a beautiful range of tones that will suggest depth.
17. First Layer: Outer Petals Pt. 2
Continuing from the previous module, you’ll work on the bottom petals of the top peony, using soft blends to make your brushstrokes invisible and add to the realism.
18. First Layer: Bottom Peony
Moving from the soft, airy tones of the top peony, you’ll begin working on the bottom peony. Instead of mixing colours as you go along, you’ll instead mix your colours up front to have a full palette to work with. You’ll learn about some of the challenges of transparency that accompany working with dark colours, and how to overcome them.Â
19. Intro to the Second Layer
We’ll begin by celebrating your accomplishments in having completed the first layer, before discussing what you can expect in the second. We’ll talk about the importance of critically weighing which adjustments you’d like to make, and what to do if you make an unsuccessful adjustment.Â
20. Second Layer: Background & Peony Centre
We’ll revisit the background to make any final adjustments before adding in important details in the centre of the flower. You’ll be introduced to how adjustments work in the second layer of an acrylic painting, before painting in the stamens and adjusting the carpels of the top peony.
21. Second Layer: Finishing the Flowers
You’ll be coached through the process of adjusting and tweaking your painting to calibrate it and make it appear more lifelike. You’ll be invited to check against your own reference photo and make changes that you need to make on your end instead of copying what you’re viewing on the screen. You’ll be reminded of important questions to ask yourself while considering which adjustments to make.
22. Signing and Varnishing
One of the most satisfying feelings of finishing a painting is signing your name. In this module, you’ll be shown how to keep your signature unobtrusive and straight, before walked through the optional stage of varnishing.
23. Conclusion
Let’s take a moment to celebrate your accomplishment…you did it! Now, the most important thing is for you to keep going, and to treat this course as the launch for many flower paintings to come.
About Me
Hi, I'm Marianne! I'm an artist and trained educator, and I've made it my mission to support emerging artists on their creative journey. I started as a self-taught artist, and after years of practice, decided to create a YouTube channel as a way to teach my methods. Since then, my channel has grown to over 50,000 subscribers, and many of my students are now exhibiting their work in galleries around the world!Â
My greatest joy is seeing you succeed as an artist. I can't wait to work with you!
FAQs
Will I have lifetime access to the course?
Is it entirely pre-recorded?
What if I don't like the course?
What if I have a question?
If I'm from a different country, how does payment work?
Are You Ready to Pick Up the Brush?
Click the offer below to get started, and don't forget to use your discount code of HOLIDAY30Â at checkout to take $30 off!
I'm READY to pick up the brush!